Safari... LIVE!!

Right now, I am watching the sunrise over the animals and grasslands... Absolutely beautiful!! God is BIG! Wait... Holy cow... There are 4 lions less than 20 feet away!! We are now going the reverse because moved down the road a bit and a small herd of elephants is crossing the road. Now we are taking pictures of Mount Kilamanjaro. Safari in the morning is awesome!!! Totally worth getting up at 4:30am !!!
Our flght leaves 5:20 pm arrives in Cairo around 11:30 pm. 6 hours. Africa is huge, it only takes 4 to get from ATL to LA. I'll email when we get on the plane. I Love You- T

Safari - Thursday update

Today the Safari was awesome. Getting there, however, was another story. We rode in the bus for 7 hours. These were the bumpiest roads ever. It felt like we were in a blender. We also stopped at a market half way to the Safari to shop. It was fun haggeling with the salesmen. As we entered the gates of Amboseli Nat'l Park, Masi women and men surrounded our bus trying to sell jewelry and carvings. It was unbelievable riding through the park and seeing all the animals so close. We saw giraffes, water buffalo, gizelles, ostriches, zebras, boars, wildabeasts and elephants. God is amazing and his creations here in Kenya are so beautiful! What a treat and so surreal to see all those animals. Next we visited a Masi village of 187 members, 1 of the 2 major tribes in Kenya. They live very primitively in huts covered in cow dung. Typically, they are cattle farmers like their people have been for centuries and they carry traditions from long ago like polygamy. You may have seen these people on Nat'l Geo, wearing their bright red and deep purple wrappings layered up with many bright colored beaded collars and necklaces. The color of the clothing against the backdrop of the yellow green landscape was absoluely striking! It has not rained in these parts in over a year and a half. Many cows of the Masi's herd have died, leaving a little over 100 left. Again, please pray for rain. Finially we arrived at our hotel for tonight. The animals walk up right behind the hotel and we sat outside before dinner watching an elephant and 3 zebras walk through the "back yard". It was fantastic! Now time for bed, we have to get up at 4:30 am to go 7 hours back to Niarobi to catch our flight to Cairo. The next 2 days will be filled with waiting in airports and riding in planes to get home to you all. I am so looking forward to seeing y'all and to lots of hugs and kisses! Please pray for safe travels and no lost luggage or delays. I'm counting the hours until I see your faces. I Love You all so - T

Kenya Team update

Jambo family and friends! God is in this place. On Sunday the team divided into 3 teams to attend worship services in Ngaamba. The services were 3 hours of prayer, song and dance that passed in the blink on an eye. In the afternoon, we broke out into small bible studies for men, woman and children where we spent time in Gods word and shared stories from our lives and our daily struggles (and of course the women discussed important topics like hair!). On Monday, our luggage arrived - praise God! We also began our first day of work. We divided into two teams - the builders and the teachers. On arrival, we were greeted by women dancing and singing - what an amazing blessing and awesome start to a work day! The builders hauled clay bricks two at a time weighing about 15 lbs each about a quarter of a mile to the construction site of the school. We worked side by side with the women and a few men. Their unwavering faith and sweet spirits inspired us to work hard. Some of the team "mowed the grass" which was really using a machete to chop away at the tall grass near the school. The teachers were invited into all 8 classrooms to teach math and reading with an american spin. It's amazing how big God's love is - childrens smiles and laughter are the same in any culture...and math is still math! That afternoon, we played football (soccer), volleyball, and other games with the children. On Tuesday, the team climbed Marwa Mountain with some of our friends from Ngaamba. The views from the top were stunning and the fellowship fulfilling. In the afternoon we played games with primary school children and walked and talked with the teenage girls. Please pray for Ngaamba. Pray for rain to ease the drought, for bountiful harvests to feed the families and for continued partnership with 410 Bridge. Please also pray for the health of the team.

Last day in Ngaamba

Our last day in Ngaamba was very bitter sweet. This morning Kellee, Angie, Danielle, Jane, Evan and I got to teach art to Class 1 and Class 2 (grades 1 and 2). These were some of the same children who played Simon Says yesterday. We made crosses with their names on them using John 3:16 as the lesson. Then we made paper airplanes using Isaiah 40:31 which talks about soaring on wings like eagles. The children were so well behaved and patient and grateful. It brought tears to my eyes when the teacher told me the children had never used construction paper (yes, another 'construction paper moment' for me). I had to help some of the children take their tops off the markers because they didn't know how to use them. Wow, do I ever take our wealth in America for granted. Andy and Ethan have had all sorts of art supplies since the moment they could hold a fat crayon. After teaching, we went to Paster Leonard's house and ate lunch. We got to see his wife, Elizabeth again and that was a treat. Next, we broke into groups and got to visit some of the homes in Ngaamba. It amazes me how things have not changed in a thousand years in Ngaamba. The people today live exactly like their ancestors. After the visits, we went back to the school for a Farewell gathering. I was glad I had sunglasses on to hide my tears. Saying goodbye was not easy. God has so blessed America and how blessed are we to have food every night for our children. This week the parable of the talents keeps coming to mind. We have definately been given 5 talents in America. I am so humbled and feel worthless for the way I have taken care of the 'talents' I've been given and the fact that God chose to have me born in Georgia instead of Kenya. As I type, all of us on the bus are rejoicing, because it just started raining. Rain for Ngaamba is what I will pray for the rest of my life. We saw their dying crops and no food supplies. Thank you God for the Rain! Love you all- T

Tiffany's Tuesday recap

5:40 pm... Riding on our way back to the hotel and going over the day. We went back to the school building and wow what progress. They are using bricks to build the walls and the walls started yeserday with 1 row, today they had completed about 8 rows, 5 ft or so. Great progress. We began the day hauling the left over bricks to the school building. After that, we hiked up a mountain, Mawa which means honey comb because of all the bee hives. Wow, am I needing to hit the gym! At the top of the mountain, the view looking over Ngaamba was amazing! God was there! I found a perfect shaded rock with a breeze overlooking Ngaamba that I told everyone was my "Heaven Spot" because that's what it looked like. The team liked that and agreed and many took my picture on that rock. We hiked back down passing homes and the people would run out to greet us. We played with the children again. Today I played tug- of- war. My side was awesome, so I taught the children how to high five and say good job when we would win. The high fives became a game in itself and motivation to win. They would practically knock me over and surround me yelling good job and high five-ing like crazy when we won. Then I taught them to play Simon Says. It was a blast hearing 50 or so children say my name Mrs. Tee-fo-nay in their Kenyan accents. Needless to say I will sleep well tonight. As I type we just passed monkeys in a tree and some zebras. Love you all and miss you- T

Tuesday morning Africa update

It's about 6:15 am up and getting ready for the day, I can hear roosters starting their day too. Today we are hiking up a mountain this morning and then more playing with the chlidren this afternoon. This trip is the first time in Ngaamba south that many of them have seen white people. Yesterday the a group of abou 25 children surrounded me, took of my hat and were fascinated by touching my hair. It was so funny laughing with them as they all said "soft". I began touching all of their heads too and it started a game between us. The women also are fascinated by our hair and keep asking us what oils we put on our hair to make it so soft. Life doesn't get better than this. Love y'all- T

the sights, sounds and smells of Africa...

It's about 2 am and just woke up from some much needed sleep.. My mind is going back over eveything from yesterday. This place is amazing!!! Freak out completly gone and such a feeling of gratitude, thanking God for sendng me and letting me experience all of this. I'm lying in bed under a mosquito net, listening to the band downstairs still playing the rythmic cool african music, they haven't stopped playing since we arrived at 5 pm. I smell kenya, what exactly the smell is I'm not sure... Spices, curry, rosemary perhaps... Not a sweet smell like honey suckle anywhere... But only savory, strong flavor. The children are beautiful. They all swarmed our bus as we arrived at the village. I got out to a sea of smiles and hugs, they surround you and it was such a warm welcome from people I have never met, but my spirit seems to know them all and so happy to see them again. You should see the landscape, it absolutely looks like a scene from Out of Africa... Acadia trees spotting the tall grasslands, blue skies against yellow green hills, red colored dirt just like home. I think when God created the earth, he definately began in Africa and I get to see his best work! What a blessing I've been given! You would love it!!! Now, time to get a few more hours of rest. I miss you and love you all so- T

1st work day update

Today was another amazing day. We were greeted at the site by the entire community women who were welcoming us with singing and dancing. It made me cry again. The people are so warm. I can't believe how close I feel to them in a short couple of days. We hauled bricks for the school walls. Then I cut long grass with a machette, that was hard work. I now have a new punishment for the boys when they are bad... Machette and hand cut the grass. I have a blister and back ache as proof. Then we played with the kids. It was awesome. So fun playing soccer (they were amazing players and killed us)! I was covered in dust after playing and working all day in the dry dirt. My shower tonight was long to get dirt out of every body part. On the way this morning we saw zebras and antelope, on the way back to the hotel we saw about 8 giraffes grazing on the side of the road. It's so crazy! Tomorrow more work and a hike up a mountain in the afternoon. They say we will see monkeys and baboons

Off to Africa!!

Here is the first BIG update for Tiffany and the team in Ngaamba:

Sunday 6/21/09 update

Jambo!

We finally arrived in Nairobi yesterday (Saturday) after 2 red eye flights on Thursday and Friday nights.

Due to weather and mechanical delays, we missed our connecting flights at JFK and London.

This did allow us to have some time to see the sights in London though. After working out the details for the flight to Kenya, we had a 60 min experience in London. What a quick, but great blessing!

We got into Nairobi around 7am local time and got the word that our luggage didn't make it. They are still in London. So, we went all day yesterday and will go today with the stuff we carried on the flights. The rumor has it we will get the luggage tonight (Sunday).

From the airport we went straight to Ngaamba to meet those we will be working with in the community. We saw a Compassion International center where many kids were having their medical check-up. We also got to see where we will be building the new school this week. The best part of the day was when all the kids from the school (about 400 of them) came out to sing us songs to welcome us. It was so great! Around 430 we were able to check into the hotel and start to refresh.

Today we are on our way to church to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will also be able to spend the afternoon in fellowship and sports.

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Today (Sunday) was another amazing day at the village. Boy, do they know how to do church. After church we had bible study with the women. It was fabulous! We saw giraffes, antelopes, zebras, monkeys and a gizelle just hanging on the side of the road!!! (Not all at the same time) Unbelievable... It's like I'm in africa!!!

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Typical scenes from the bus on the 90 minute drive from Machakos to Ngaamba each day.

Someone from an earlier mission trip took this shot from the bus as they were entering the community for the first time.

This is most likely the church our friends and family worshiped in with the community this past Sunday!

An earlier mission team member said the children would “run after the bus each morning!”

This is the landscape around Ngaamba.